Clinical impact of lactate on postoperative pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy: A single-center retrospective study of 1,043 patients

Background/objectives: Several hemodynamic markers have been studied to predict postoperative complication which is a risk factor for poor quality of life and prognosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether postoperative lactate clearance could affect clinical outcome based on complications in one surgical patient group. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from all patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) at Samsung Medical Center from January 2015 to December 2019. Differences in baseline characteristics of patients, intraoperative outcome, and postoperative outcome were evaluated according to the presence or absence of clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF). Results: Among a total of 1107 patients, 1043 patients were tested for arterial lactate levels immediately after surgery, and the day after surgery. Immediately postoperative hyperlactatemia (lactate ≥2.0 mmol/L) was not related to CR-POPF (P = 0.269). However, immediately postoperative hyperlactatemia with a negative lactic clearance on postoperative day (POD) 1 was related to CR-POPF (P = 0.003). In multivariate analyses, non-pancreatic cancer (hazard ratio (HR): 2.545, P < 0.001), soft pancreatic texture (HR: 1.884, P < 0.001), and postoperative hyperlactatemia with negative lactate clearance on POD 1 (HR: 1.805, P = 0.008) were independent risk factors for CR-POPF. Conclusions: Hyperlactatemia with negative lactate clearance after PD, one of the high-risk surgeries requiring postoperative ICU care, is a risk factor for CR-POPF. In case of immediately postoperative hyperlactatemia after PD, lactate clearance with serial lactate level follow-up can be used for achieving the hemodynamic goal to prevent CR-POPF.